


The Key to the Trap

by ParkJaebum



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: A dash of Markson, A sprinkle of magic, M/M, Some Fluff, Some Humor, Some things sort of die, some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 06:50:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12126891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParkJaebum/pseuds/ParkJaebum
Summary: When Jinyoung steps outside the walls of his city, he finds himself living in the woods with a mute human and five woodland creatures. However, they have a secret and the more Jinyoung learns about them, the more he realizes how combined their fates really are.





	1. The Runaway Prince

Jinyoung pulled the cloak tighter around him, looking towards the ground so that his face was hidden better. It was twilight but his face was so well known that it wouldn’t take much for anyone to recognize him. More importantly, it wouldn’t take anyone long to alert a guard to his presence outside the castle and that was the last place Jinyoung wanted to return to right now.

He would like to pretend this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision and that leaving had come with some sort of plan, but the reality was, Jinyoung had been angry after a confrontation and that anger had never simmered down. In fact, it had only built to the point that he had crept out of his room, out of the castle walls and as his footsteps carried him forward, he knew they were going to carry him straight out of the city walls and into the forest beyond.

He didn’t know what lay beyond there, which had been the point he’d been trying to make with his mother. How could he possibly take the throne when she finally decided to step down if he had no knowledge of what laid beyond the walls except for the things he’d learned in books? He needed an excursion to what was beyond, even if it was just a short distance. His mother hadn’t even considered it. Jinyoung was a child, she had repeated more than once during the conversation and as such, he had no business outside the city walls. He wasn’t positive why she had said city walls when the reality was she barely let him outside the castle.

Still, it wasn’t the first time Jinyoung had thought about leaving the castle and the city to explore beyond. It was something that had crossed his mind multiple times when he’d been younger. He’d learn something about the world and want to see it. Simple things like plants, animals, even the natural springs that were allegedly just outside the city. He could see them painted on the maps but that was as close as he ever got to them. He was twenty now, it was time to see them up close.

When he’d been incredibly young, he’d managed to sneak away and to the city walls. He’d been caught and returned to the castle, but not before a man paused to offer him a flower at the entrance to the city. It was pink with the innermost parts a soft purple. To this day, he hadn’t found that flower in any of his books and he’d never seen the woman again to ask her more about it. It was as if this one precious little plant was left with him to keep his curiosity peaked. It had worked.

He’d never had a plan to sneak out and as he’d grown older, he’d realized that was something he needed. He could get out, that he had proven when he was just a child, but he had no idea what to do when he got there. He’d looked at maps and hatched half a plan, but even now he hadn’t flushed it out fully. He knew there was an establishment outside the city that sat to the southwest. He could head that direction and would eventually find people. Once he did that, he could hash out the rest of the details as to what he was doing.

As he made his way out of the city without so much as a glance from the people he passed, Jinyoung started in that direction. There were a few people going into the city, but it appeared that this late in the evening, no one was going out.

His first miscalculation was that there would be a road that would lead him to the establishment. After all, people came from it all the time and while there had been something of a path when he’d first headed out, it quickly went off in several different directions. This had to mean something good because it meant that there was more than just the establishment he knew about. However, as the sun fully set and those paths became further and further away from the city, the paths seemed to almost disappear. Here in the woods, Jinyoung had no idea which direction was southwest and no idea which way he was heading.

He came to a place where the path disappeared completely. Plants were not even knocked down enough to suggest a person had come this way and Jinyoung’s heart rate picked up. As long as there had been a path, there had been at least a direction. Now though, he stopped, standing in the woods completely lost and alone. Worse, he could hear the animals of the night moving around the woods as well.

He put one foot in front of the other thinking it was better to keep going than it was to stop and stand in one place; to allow something to just come have him for dinner. The full moon above was offering no light because of the trees overhead and Jinyoung found himself having trouble with where to place his feet. His face was being hit by low branches that he couldn’t see no matter how much his eyes tried to adjust.

“This was a terrible plan,” Jinyoung said aloud as he stepped forward. This time, when he planted his foot, he felt it get tangled up with a log. He realized it too late as he was already halfway through another step and his weight sent him forward. Jinyoung was on a hill, something he realized when his foot came loose from the log and he fell forward and began to roll down it. It was steep enough to keep him moving but littered enough with trees and branches that Jinyoung felt when his arms and legs came in contact with them or when the rocks and sticks in the ground tore at his flesh.

With hills, they always come to an end and this one was no different. Jinyoung felt the end of the hill when he met a tree with his head and a thump that he was sure echoed all the way back to the castle. He groaned, but nothing else came from him as darkness closed around him.


	2. The Meeting

“I think he’s going to die.”

“He’s not going to die.”

“He’s probably going to die.”

“He’s fine.”

“But it’s been three days and he hasn’t so much as moved!”

“He’s _not_ going to die, Bambam.”

Jinyoung tried to move but his body felt heavy. His legs especially didn’t seem to want to move as he heard the two arguing. Opening his eyes, the view was cloudy but he could tell the sun was shining into the room which meant it was at least early in the day. “Where am I?” he asked, trying to clear his head. He looked around him, not seeing the owner of the two voices that had been arguing. The room, though cloudy, looked empty.

“See! I told you he wouldn’t die, Bambam.”

Jinyoung blinked a few times, missing this Bambam’s retort. When he opened his eyes again, his view was clear but there was no one around him. “Who’s there?” he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position. He was taken aback as a bat flew at him. He reacted quickly, his hand striking the bat and sending it flying back into the wall. It blurred then, a swirl of colors and then it became whole again as it slid down the wall. Jinyoung grimaced from the movement and then rubbed his eyes, wondering at the color that had been there and writing it off as his vision still being shaky.

“There was really no need for that.”

Jinyoung’s gaze was drawn down to where he thought the voice had come from and a small squeak left his mouth, an ironic thing since he was now looking at a mouse. A talking mouse. He tried to shrink away from it and into the wall, but his legs were still heavy and trying to move them resulted in pain. Looking at them, he realized why as they were bound in what appeared to be logs that had been split in two, hollowed out and tied back around his legs. He knew some of the pain in his body radiated from there, so he wondered if they were broken. 

“Don’t be moving around too much. You’re still injured, even if you are awake.”

Jinyoung’s gaze went back to the mouse who had moved forward. “Stay away from me!” He shouted shaking the blanket out and sending the mouse flying.

A paw reached up from the floor, catching the mouse before it went into the same wall that the bat had flown into. “Careful now, Youngjae is small and gets hurt easily.”

Jinyoung’s gaze stared at the paw, the very large and very big clawed paw, and followed the arm down as the mouse scurried down it and into the fur. It disappeared, small enough in size that the fur of the bear that had been curled up on the floor hid it easily. The bear that had spoken. Yep, he’d gone crazy after that roll down the hill. He recalled then that he hit his head and he reached up to touch the back of his head, wincing when he did so.

The arm that reached up was wrapped in cloth but didn’t hurt nearly as much as the shoulder that tried to lift it. He looked at his right arm where some of the fingers were wrapped tightly with wooden pieces sticking out the ends. Flexing them was a mistake as he realized those were definitely broken. The rest of his arm seemed alright though, despite some scratches and bruises.

A loud smack against the wall was made, interrupting Jinyoung’s investigation of his injuries. Looking over, Jinyoung was met with an otter looking in on them. It appeared he had opened a door and that had been what the smack was. “He’s awake?” it asked from the doorway. Jinyoung stared at it. “He is awake!” The otter looked at him and Jinyoung stared back at it. “Did you tell, Jaebum?”

“I think Youngjae ran off to do it,” the bear said from the floor. It sat up then, stretching it’s large arms above its head as though it were stretching. Jinyoung tried to shrink away but found it was a near impossible task. The bear was taking up most of the space in the room and his yawn, Jinyoung hoped it was a yawn, showed Jinyoung more sharp teeth than he was willing to be this close to.

“He won’t hurt you. Yugyeom is just big.”

Jinyoung’s gaze went to the floor. He would have missed the hole in the floor there if there wasn’t a white rabbit sticking out of it. If a rabbit was saying it, then it must be true, right? Bears could easily kill rabbits. Unless this was some lure to get him to let his guard down so the bear could eat him.

“You were out for three days. If he’d wanted to eat you, he would have.” It was the small voice again, so Jinyoung assumed the mouse was there, hidden in the bear’s fur again.

“I’m Jackson,” the rabbit said, getting out of his hole and leaping onto the bed. Jinyoung put his hands up to block him and the rabbit moved closer, his nose moving up and down as it sniffed the air around him. His hands came down and Jinyoung reached forward, petting the soft fur of the rabbit out of some instinct he didn’t understand. The rabbit, in turn, rubbed against his hand in a way similar to a cat Jinyoung had once pet.

“I’m...Jinyoung,” he answered. “You’re a rabbit.”

“Currently,” the rabbit, no _Jackson_ , answered. “I’ll return to my true form one day. Until then, yep, I’m a rabbit.”

He was about to ask about Jackson’s true form when another person arrived, a _human_! “Do you see them?” He asked quickly. “They’re talking! They talk!”

The human’s lips twitched and he nodded at Jinyoung before looking down at Jinyoung’s legs. He reached out, touching Jinyoung’s feet. Jinyoung jerked, trying to pull his toes away but knowing it was impossible. The human reached for the other foot and did the same and even though he tried to prepare for it, the light brush of fingers tickled and he tried to pull away again. “Do you hear me?” he asked, a grimace on his face because that jerk of his leg had caused more pain than the first.

“He can hear you. Jaebum just can’t say anything.” The mouse was back on the edge of the bed but made sure it hadn’t crossed onto the blanket to be flipped again.

“So I have a human who can’t talk and animals who can?” Jinyoung nodded. “Sure, that makes a lot of sense.”

“It’s the way it is,” Jackson said, following Jaebum’s movement. He was going over to the bat and picking it up from where it had fallen.

“Is Bambam dead again?” the mouse asked.

The human nodded, petting the small head of the bat with a single finger. Jinyoung watched him in amazement as his eyes burned blue and a moment later, the little bat’s wings were moving. He put the bat on a little perch Jinyoung hadn’t noticed before and it latched on with its feet, its wings enveloping it. The human turned, tapping his foot on the bear, and the bear left, taking his mouse with him. The rabbit went out the otter’s little door and it shut behind him. 

Jinyoung was left alone a moment later and then Jaebum was returning, a bowl in his hand that he handed to Jinyoung along with a spoon. It was a soup, of that Jinyoung was sure, but what was in it he didn’t know. His eyes took in the appearance and he felt disgusted at the same time his nose took in the smell and his stomach rumbled.

He sighed, looking up at Jaebum. “You really want me to eat this?” Jaebum nodded at him and Jinyoung looked back at it. “Do you eat this?” Another nod and he put the spoon into the bowl and tentatively took a bite. Surprise lit his face as he tasted it and he wondered how something so poor in appearance could taste so good.

When he finished, Jaebum took the bowl and disappeared again briefly. When he returned this time, he pushed Jinyoung gently on the chest to get him to lay back down. Jinyoung allowed it, lying back on the pillows and closing his eyes, wondering if he’d imagined it, or if Jaebum’s eyes had burned blue again.


	3. Batbam

“This is my favorite spot,” Bambam said as Jinyoung was placed on the ground overlooking the cliff. The waterfall was a short distance away from the house. The setting sun was catching on the water, making Jinyoung understand why Bambam liked it. Jaebum didn’t stay with them and headed back the direction they had come as soon as Jinyoung was settled.

“Why did you want to show me this?” Jinyoung asked, glad to be beyond the house and the yard. He’d been there two weeks and had gone no further because of his limited mobility. The animals hadn’t bothered him much either after that first day so he’d spent a lot of time in his head, trying to figure out how this was real.

He’d learned their names at least and had given into the fact that this was somehow real. He was actually living in the woods with these five talking animals and their somehow mute human who could bring them back to life. He supposed it could be worse because they could have killed him. Instead, the human was trying to heal his injuries. He made sure to feed him and even forced Jinyoung to move around a bit so his muscles didn’t weaken too much.

That wasn’t it, though. Even as his brain had wrapped itself around that aspect, he’d finally been able to ask Jackson what he’d meant about his ‘true’ form and that had only forced him to start over with his trying to believe the things that were seemingly impossible but that were clearly going on around him.

“I’m a dragon. We’re all dragons.” Jackson had said, his tiny nose bouncing up and down.

Jinyoung had laughed at that because dragons didn’t exist. They were just mythical creatures that had been made up a long time ago. He’d stopped laughing when Mark had looked at him. “You’re talking to woodland creatures but you can’t believe that we’re dragons?”

Jinyoung hadn’t been able to argue that one because he was, in fact, sitting there talking to woodland creatures. “But how?” Jinyoung had asked.

“A curse set a long, long time ago. Long before you were even born. It’s hard to keep track of time in this form, so we don’t actually know when. Time is also different for each of us and that makes it even harder,” Youngjae had explained. He was on Jinyoung’s bed again and Jinyoung had to admit, he was doing much better with the mouse than he had the first day.

“A curse? Like magic?”

“Yep,” Mark answered. “I guess that doesn’t exist in your world anymore, either?”

“No,” Jinyoung answered. “It never has.”

“Just like dragons,” Jackson concluded. “I’m sure she still has it, she probably just doesn’t need it anymore now that we hardly exist.”

“She?”

“The witch,” Yugyeom answered. “The one who turned us into this for the rest of eternity.”

“Not eternity,” Bambam answered, “just until we figure out how to break the curse.”

Jinyoung had asked a dozen more questions, but he’d been getting tired at that point and almost as if he was aware of that, Jaebum had returned and chased the animals out again. Jinyoung hadn’t needed him to make him lay back down because he had been more than a little tired and had been horizontal before Mark’s little door had even closed.  

He turned his attention back to Bambam now though, his energy levels picking up with the care of the last few days.

“I dunno,” Bambam answered. “I thought maybe you would like to see something besides where we live. We can’t go far but it’s at least somewhere.”

“Why can’t you go very far?” Jinyoung asked.

“Because we’re stuck here,” Bambam answered. “We can only go so far because of the curse. We were stuck wherever we were and because we were here, this is where we have to stay. I guess it keeps us from gathering together and taking out the witch that cursed us. We can’t even go over to that waterfall because it’s outside our limit.”

“What happens if you try to go outside it?”

“It’s like an invisible wall that you just can’t walk through,” Bambam said. “We tried but couldn’t make it. Then we thought maybe it was just that we were getting too far from Jaebum so we tried to take him as well, but that didn’t work, either.”

“Why would that matter?”

“Because we are bound to him,” Bambam answered. “Every dragon is bound to an Ancient and Jaebum is the oldest by far. He’s our Ancient, but his bloodline is also the oldest among our kind.”

“Like a king?” Jinyoung asked.

“Mm, not exactly,” Bambam answered. “I’d sure like to know what he’d say if we called him that, though. We protect him and he protects us.” Bambam explained. “We aren’t bound by a law, it’s something much deeper than that. I’ve never actually tried to explain it before. It’s just something we have to do. No, it’s something we want to do.”

Jinyoung looked over at him. “He protects you from what?” he asked. “It looks like you’re caught in the same curse he is.”

“That’s actually very complicated,” Bambam said with a sigh. “We have no way of confirming it, of course, but we suspect that most of the dragons were affected by the curse because it was cast at Jaebum.”

“How can it be complicated when absolutely none of this makes sense?” Jinyoung asked.

“I suppose it would seem strange to someone who just found out that dragons exist but are masquerading around as woodland creatures. We’ve had a lot more time to deal with it. Plus, we know we are dragons and aren’t just being told that we are. We lived as them, we have memories of being them, so it’s our memories and not just words.”

“Is it hard being a woodland creature?” Jinyoung asked, changing the direction of the conversation as he wondered what that might be like.

“It’s hard being a bat. I want to eat Youngjae because he’s a mouse and I eat those. I also don’t want to be awake during the day. I have all the traits of a bat but I also have this other side of me, the side of me that existed before the curse.”

“The dragon side?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah,” Bambam answered. “I’m lucky because I can still fly and the others can’t, but even that is different. I’m small now and there are things that will eat me. It’s harder to be revived if I’m eaten.”

“Is that possible?”

“It is,” Bambam answered. “First they have to find the animal that ate me and then they have to kill it and find my pieces inside the stomach. Assuming I wasn’t just swallowed whole.”

“What if it fully digests you?”

“It can’t,” Bambam said. “Magic is strange, Jinyoung. You think it follows some law, only to find something different that it can do.” Bambam moved from the limb above him to one closer. “We think we understand everything about ourselves and about this curse, but there’s always just something else that gets added to it.”

Bambam was quiet a moment but then he returned to what they’d been talking about. “Getting eaten is hard on Jaebum so I don’t soar anymore. Keeping us alive really drains him. Especially when I eat Youngjae.”

“I thought you just said he had to kill the animal that ate you to save you? Does that mean he has to kill you to save Youngjae?” Bambam nodded and Jinyoung thought it the strangest thing to see on a bat. Stranger still that he recognized it as a nod.

“That’s _really_ hard on Jaebum.”

Jinyoung looked out over the area as the sun continued to set. It was peaceful here after being around the other animals, even though he was still with one of the most talkative ones of the group. “I’m sorry I killed you,” Jinyoung said finally.

A small laugh came from the bat. “It’s okay, but there is a way you can make it up to me.”

“How is that?” Jinyoung asked.

“You could let me sit on your shoulder,”

“Not gonna happen,” Jinyoung answered without hesitating. He looked over at Bambam and offered him a smile. “I still think you’re a little creepy.”

“I am creepy,” Bambam answered. “I’ve always hated bats. I think the witch knew that when she set up the curse.”

“Did you know her?” Jinyoung asked.

“Everyone knew her,” Bambam answered.


	4. Ottermark

Mark was sitting next to him. It had been four weeks since he’d woken up and Jinyoung was sitting by the stream. Jaebum had put him there with Mark and left as he had when he’d put him with Bambam. Jinyoung had waited all of two minutes before he’d inched his way closer to the water and stuck his feet in. His log covered legs had followed and before he knew it, he’d made his way in far enough that he could lean back and cover his entire body in water.

“Jaebum’s not going to be happy about that,” Mark said to him, swimming past him in the stream.

“It feels amazing, though,” Jinyoung said, the water washing away dirt from his skin. Jaebum had tried to help him clean up over the course of the last two weeks, but it was significantly less enjoyable than this. One, Jinyoung was far less comfortable not having clothes on with Jaebum near him than he had been with any number of the help back home. He attributed it to the fact that Jaebum’s eyes seemed to just _see_ everything. Two, it had been painful on his left leg. The right, not so much, but he could tell the left had taken significantly more damage on his tumble down the hill.

“Do dragon’s swim?” Jinyoung asked.

“I never did,” Mark answered turning back the other direction. “I can’t imagine a life now that isn’t in the water, but I don’t know if that’s otterbrain or how I actually feel.”

Jinyoung smiled, “is that what you call it? The separation between your old self and the new?”

“Yes,” Mark answered. “I guess that’s been mentioned?”

“Bambam told me.” Jinyoung stayed like that, just floating while Mark swam around him, up and down and around. It was cool, peaceful and if his legs weren’t a problem, it would have been the most enjoyable thing he’d done in a long, long time.

“Mark, do you prefer swimming or flying?” He asked, paddling his way back towards the shore a bit so he could sit up.

“Flying,” Mark answered. “There isn’t anything like it. The higher up you go, the smaller the world looks. Honestly, being here in this form with these guys wouldn’t be so bad, but I can remember how it felt to fly. I miss that too much to really enjoy our life here.”

“Do you think you will swim when you become a dragon again?”

“No,” Mark answered. “Unlike the rest of them, Jinyoung, I don’t believe we’ll ever be dragons again. Too much time has already passed and if Jaebum hasn’t found a way to break the curse by now, I don’t think it will happen. It’s also possible he knows how he can break the curse but can’t break it. It’s easier to accept that this may be my forever than to hold onto hope that things will change.”

“I don’t believe that,” Jinyoung said, fully sitting up and moving close enough to the shore that it became easier. “I think hope is very important. If you don’t have hope, then you just live in this stale moment day after day. As long as you believe there is a possibility, then you have something to look forward to in the future.”

Mark was staring at him, studying him in a way that reminded Jinyoung way too much of Jaebum’s stare. “What is it you hope for?” Mark asked him.

“I hope…” Jinyoung smiled. “I hope you become a dragon again,” he said, looking at Mark. “I used to hope that I could leave the city walls and here I am.”

“Yet you want to go back?”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” Jinyoung corrected. “And I have things I have to do. It isn’t a want but it is necessary. I can’t just abandon the role I was handed.”

“Let’s say I become a dragon again, what are you going to hope for then?” Mark asked, swimming back in the other direction.

“I’m going to hope that you visit me,” Jinyoung answered. “I’m going to hope that you’ll take me swimming when I can actually swim again. I’m going to hope that I’ll be able to eat rabbit again and not think of Jackson.”

Mark laughed at the last one and Jinyoung began to creep back towards the water. “You have a lot of things that you’re hoping for, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung smiled up towards the sun. “I really do. It’s pretty amazing how differently the world looks when you get a different perspective.” He floated along a minute. “Mark, what color are you?”

“I don’t really see color,” Mark said.

“Not even as a dragon?”

“Oh,” Mark answered. “I thought you meant now. I’m pink.”

“Pink!” Jinyoung asked, trying to sit up but failing to do so and nearly sending his head fully under the water. “You’re pink?”

Mark swam closer to him and pushed on Jinyoung to send him back to the shore. “I am. Is that strange?”

“Well...I guess I don’t know,” Jinyoung said as he sat up again. “I just thought...I suppose I thought shades of blue and brown when I thought about dragons.”

“We have those, too,” Mark answered. “Dragons come in all different colors, Jinyoung.”

“What color are the others? Jaebum is blue, right?”

“Yes,” Mark said. “Jaebum is blue. How did you know?”

“When he does things, sometimes his eyes glow blue. You didn’t notice?”

“Jaebum’s eyes are just shades of grey to me. I have noticed they lighten and darken, but it’s just grey.” Mark floated back out into the water. “Let’s see, Bambam is purple, Youngjae is yellow, Yugyeom is green and that leaves Jackson in red.”

“I still can’t believe you’re pink,” Jinyoung said after a moment.

“My entire family was pink,” Mark commented. “I wonder if they’re still alive.”

Jinyoung felt the shift in the mood but he didn’t have any questions that would lead them straight to another topic, so he just asked about the one they were on. “Do you have a large family?”

“No,” Mark answered. “I had my mom and a cousin. Dragon families stopped being large a long time ago. I suppose it could have been worse. Youngjae was an abandoned egg. The fact that he was able to hatch at all is pretty amazing.”

“The others?” Jinyoung asked. “Do they have a family?”

“Jackson has a brother but his parents were killed fighting the witch. We’re not actually sure his brother is alive, either. Yugyeom doesn’t talk about his family so we’ve sort of assumed they’re all dead. Bambam had a sister left before the curse and Jaebum’s been on his own for a really long time. We have each other though, so we have a family.”

Jinyoung smiled, “I guess that’s true, isn’t it?”

“Do you have any family, Jinyoung?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I have a mother. She’s all I’ve ever had but our relationship isn’t good. We spend more time fighting than getting along. I don’t really see that changing all that much when I go back. It’s kind of just how we are.”

Jinyoung enjoyed the water a moment longer, but he could feel the coldness of the water starting to creep into him. “Do you have anything you can do? You know, like how Jaebum can revive Bambam?”

“No,” Mark answered. “I’m pretty much limited to the flying and breathing steam.”

“Steam?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah,” Mark answered. “The whole fire-breathing dragons thing is true. Jackson is actually a fire-breather.”

“And you just get steam?”

“Have you ever been hit with a hot blast of steam? It’s actually pretty useful,” Mark defended.

“I guess you would know more than I would.”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Mark said, and Jinyoung got the same feeling as he had with Bambam and the nod that Mark was smiling at him now.

“I don’t know much about you guys and I want to know. So I ask,” Jinyoung explained with a shrug. “I sort of figure if you don’t want to answer you won’t. Is it annoying?” Jinyoung smiled as he lifted his head and looked over at Mark.

“No,” Mark answered. “It’s actually rather nice to be able to talk to someone else. It’s /really/ nice to be able to tell our story to someone, even if it still sounds unbelievable.”

“No one else has come this far?”

“No,” Mark answered, “not once.”

 


	5. Beargyeom

It had been six weeks since he’d woken up and Jinyoung was moving on his own, though it was with quite a bit of difficulty because Jaebum refused to remove the log on his left leg. For the most part, he would hobble around the yard but when he’d wander off on his own, he was always followed by Yugyeom, the bear. Many times, like now, he was on his back and Yugyeom would walk with him through the woods. It was Yugyeom’s favorite thing to do and Jinyoung was starting to enjoy it as well. He’d be glad when his legs would allow him to do it fully on his own.

“Yugyeom, can you take me to the barrier? I want to see it.” Jinyoung had been curious about that since Bambam had mentioned it but he couldn’t imagine it.

“Jaebum doesn’t want us to take you that far. It’s dangerous and if you go beyond it, we won’t be able to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?” Jinyoung asked, his curiosity about the barrier only growing.

“Anything that could be in the woods. Animals, people, anything.” Yugyeom answered but he had turned their direction so Jinyoung wondered if they were heading for it anyways. “We have to protect you.”

“How do you know what Jaebum wants? He can’t tell you,” Jinyoung pointed out.

“No, he can’t. Not with words anyway. With Jaebum, we just know.”

“Dragon thing?” Jinyoung asked.

“Human thing,” Yugyeom corrected. “You do it, too.”

“I think I’ve been more than vocal about what I want,” Jinyoung corrected.

“That’s true enough,” Yugyeom agreed. “And we’ll get you home, Jinyoung, just as soon as you can walk on your own, Jaebum will take you back to the city behind the walls.”

“Can he go that far?” Jinyoung asked.

“Of course he can,” Yugyeom answered. “That’s where it all started. The city has been there forever. It wasn’t what it is now, well, at least what Jaebum says it is now, but that city has been a human establishment for centuries!”

“Centuries?” Jinyoung asked.

“I’m a bear. I don’t know time. It’s just a really, really long time.”

“Okay,” Jinyoung agreed with a soft laugh. “So why is it Jaebum can go there but you can’t?”

“Most of us were outside the establishment when the curse was cast. The ones that weren’t fled to the forest the second things began to feel weird. Jaebum was directly next to her. The Immortal One is her official name but if you’re a dragon, she’s just an evil witch,” Yugyeom answered. “Her face may change, but she is still of the same soul. The only thing that can kill her is time and that only happens if she births a child. Only then does time start to count down.”

“How long does it count down for?” Jinyoung asked.

“However long a human life lasts.”

“Why is that?”

“I guess because that is all the magic she can keep for herself. She loses the rest as she teaches her child to wield the magic she was blessed with. Once the child knows it all, her ability to be immortal is taken away. The child is then the Immortal One until a time he has a child.”  

“Why does there need to be an Immortal One?”

“If you believe our histories, there was a massive war between the dragons and humankind a very long time ago. Dragons were killing people and the humans were destroying dragons. It was very ugly business…”

“You were alive then?” Jinyoung asked.

“No,” Yugyeom answered. “This was long before most of us were born. Only Jaebum was alive and he was very young. His family was targeted strongly because of their bloodline. Anywho, the easiest way for the humans to eradicate dragons was to ensure no new dragons were born. They attacked our eggs so they could not hatch and they targeted our mothers and killed them to eliminate new eggs. The number of females has been very low ever since then.”

“It was during this time that the Immortal One came to be. She would be the peacekeeper between the dragons and the humans and she was blessed by the gods with magic powerful enough to do it. When the time came that humans and dragons could live peacefully, she would be able to birth a child and live a regular life as a human being.”

“So what happened?” Jinyoung asked.

“Humankind is easily influenced and the Immortal One is essentially human. She became much like her human counterparts and developed a hatred for the dragons. Jaebum thinks she felt jealous of the dragons and hated them for the long lives they had that humans could not.”

“It sounds like Jaebum knew her well?”

“He was the last of his line. The dragon families bound to him listened to him without question and he had a lot of pull with the other Ancients. It was beneficial for the two of them to get along. She could influence the human aspect and Jaebum could control the dragons. It should have been a perfect setup for both races, but then she began to kill us as well. She’d honed her magic by that point and turned the magic that was meant to protect our two races into a weapon against us. She created this curse to finally be rid of us and we’ve been living this way since.”

“Bambam mentioned it was cast at Jaebum?”

“Jaebum trusted her and that was the mistake that led us to this. It wouldn’t have mattered though, she was determined to find a way to eliminate us and no matter how we tried, we were unable to destroy her.”

“How did she create the curse, though?” Jinyoung asked.

“If you want to know more about that, you’ll have to ask Jaebum.”

Jinyoung sighed. “And he’ll answer me how?” Jinyoung asked, more than a little annoyed.

“He can show you,” Yugyeom answered, “but you have to ask him to do so. He really doesn’t like doing it.”

“Yugyeom, could Jaebum talk before?” Jinyoung asked. Maybe the really knew what Jaebum wanted because they’d always known him as a silent presence.

“Of course, he could. It wasn’t until after the curse was cast that he lost his ability to talk. We sort of figure it’s because Jaebum knows too much about the witch. If he knows something that could reverse the curse or let us defeat her, he can’t tell us.”

“Can’t he show you?” Whatever that meant exactly.

“No. It’s not quite the same thing.” Yugyeom stopped and Jinyong looked up. “Please don’t walk past that bush. I can’t get beyond there.”

Yugyeom laid down on the ground, allowing Jinyoung to get off of him more easily and he walked forward. Yugyeom’s paw went up and he pressed it flat in the air. Jinyoung stared at it, seeing how it flattened as if it were actually placed against something, but there was nothing there. He pushed his hand past where Yugyeom’s was and narrowed his gaze as it seemed to shift in the air. Yugyeom’s paw moved forward and the bear cried out as he fell forward.

Jinyoung dropped his hand to Yugyeom, shaking the unmoving bear. He watched the colors swirl around him, colors he had seen before when he’d first struck Bambam and sent him into the wall. They didn’t linger long and it was only a moment before Yugyeom was back to just being a bear. An unmoving bear against the ground.

“Yugyeom!” Jinyoung shouted, shaking him more harshly. “Yugyeom, please wake up. I can’t run back and get Jaebum and even if I did, I have no idea how to get back here! You can’t die way out here!”

Jinyoung continued to shake him, but it was to no avail so he stood up, wondering if he was even capable of finding his way back at this point.

“Stop worrying so much!”

Jinyoung stopped, looking around for Youngjae. He was climbing out from under Yugyeom. “Where the hell did you come from!” Jinyoung shouted, picking up the little mouse and hugging him against him.

“Air!” squeaked Youngjae.

Jinyoung relaxed his grip and pulled the mouse back. “We have to get Jaebum. I don’t know what happened to Yugyeom…”

“Jaebum will find him. He’ll be fine. I drowned in a lake once and Jaebum found me. He just sort of knows when we’re dead.”

Jinyoung looked down at him, wondering how a mouse could speak so calmly about being dead. _Because he’s a mouse and he’s been dead before._ “So he’ll come then?” Jinyoung asked. “He’ll know how to find him?”

Youngjae ran up Jinyoung’s arm. “He’ll be fine,” he confirmed and it wasn’t much longer before the mouse was dozing on Jinyoung’s shoulder.

Jinyoung had repositioned himself, leaning against a tree next to Yugyeom as he waited the agonizing hours it took for Jaebum to appear. When he did, Jinyoung expected him to look angry, but he looked as he always did. He moved to Yugyeom and a confused look passed over his face.

“He touched the barrier and when Jinyoung did it, he just fell over,” Youngjae explained.

Jaebum nodded, his jaw tightening as he crossed what Jinyoung had thought was the barrier. It was a look that made Jinyoung think that Jaebum was in pain and he instantly felt worse for bringing Yugyeom this far out. When he came back, the expression moved away and Jinyoung watched as Jaebum grabbed ahold of the bears back legs and dragged him backward, inside the barrier.

Eyes burned blue a moment later and after a moment, Jaebum fell down beside Yugyeom, the bear's lungs moving under his fur. Jaebum didn’t get up so Jinyoung moved over there, looking down at pale blue eyes.

“Yugyeom wasn’t originally one of his, so it takes a whole lot more energy,” Youngjae explained. “They’ll just take a nap now and then all will be fine.”

“Wasn’t one of his?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yugyeom was with a different Ancient, but the curse separated them. It’s really exhausting on him when Yugyeom dies.”

Jaebum was watching him as Jinyoung sat down next to him, wondering how many hours that nap would take. Bambam had slept for most of the day. Lost in his wondering, it took him by surprise when Jaebum’s arms wrapped around him and pulled him across his own body and positioned Jinyoung between himself and Yugyeom.

“It’s going to be awhile,” Youngjae said, leaving Jinyong and disappearing into Yugyeom’s fur. Jinyoung raised his gaze up to Jaebum who smiled softly before his eyes closed. The even breathing he was met with on either side of him told him they were both asleep. Jinyoung looked up at the sky above him, wondering more about Yugyeom and his Ancient.

~~

He dreamed of dragons. It was a dark sky and he could hear cries and screams as he ran through the streets. Far above, a dragon screamed and the sky lit up with bright red fire. Jinyoung ducked against a wall, his heart racing as he looked around. There were men running past, all of them holding a weapon of some form that could either be launched or launch projectiles into the air. A loud crash in the distance told him there were others and that a dragon had crashed into the ground.

The yelling got louder after that and Jinyoung was moving forward again. This time, towards where the crash had come from. When the wall ended and he could see it, he saw the dragon struggling against ropes as the men attempted to restrain it while at the same time, digging spears into its scales.

Jinyoung felt frozen, looking at the men and the way they were treating the dragon. It huffed blasts of frozen air at the men, but they still hung on. When the dragons face turned towards him, Jinyoung felt like the frozen breath had seeped into his soul. Bright blue orbs turned his way, staring straight at him. “Jaebum?”

Things happened then, as they only did in dreams and Jinyoung found himself standing with a spear in hand, a woman beside him whispering in his ear. “Kill it,” she whispered. “It is what you were born for.”

Jinyoung moved forward towards the dragon. It stood there, no longer struggling as it watched his approach. When he was near enough, Jinyoung held up the spear and the dragon sat up against the ropes, exposing the area of his heart. _If it is you, I shall die_.

Jinyoung was confused as the words filtered through his mind and he hesitated. The woman behind him urged him on and as Jinyoung turned back to look at her, he awoke sharply, sitting up in the night.

~

It was dark like it had been in the dream but the only thing Jinyoung heard now was the sounds of crickets and a few night creatures. He was breathing heavy when Jaebum’s hand fell on his arm and he jumped, trying to move away from it until he realized who it was. He cursed as he realized it and Jaebum pulled him back down against him. Yugyeom was gone and likely Youngjae as well.

Jaebum had wrapped his arms around Jinyoung and was rubbing a hand up and down his back reassuringly. “I’m fine,” Jinyoung said as his heart rate slowed down and his breathing evened out. “Just a dream about killing a blue-eyed dragon.” The hand on his back hesitated, but then continued a second later.

Jinyoung laughed softly, lifting his head to look at Jaebum but quickly realizing he couldn’t actually see him. “Are your eyes blue as a dragon, too?” He asked and as if to answer, Jaebum’s eyes lit up. “So you _can_ do that at will?” He put his head back down. “I guess Yugyeom is okay now?” It wasn’t a question he needed to be answered and not one that Jaebum could answer but Jinyoung found he didn’t need Jaebum to answer anything. Yugyeom had gotten up and left and that meant he must be feeling okay.

“I’m sorry for...whatever happened. He said you didn’t want him taking me to the barrier and I guess that’s why, though all Bambam said about it was that it wouldn’t let you through. He didn’t tell me that you guys could die. I won’t ask them to bring me here again, I don’t want any of you to die.”

Jinyoung paused as he thought about the dream he had just woken up from. “I really don’t,” he repeated, but he was sure the sentence was more for himself than for anyone else. “Especially you, Jaebum. You take care of them and I know one day you’ll be free to fly again. Mark said that’s what he misses the most. I can’t imagine being trapped on the ground when you’re meant to fly. I know what it’s like to be trapped.”

Jinyoung stayed there, listening to the soft sound of Jaebum’s heartbeat. “I ran away from home, do you know that?” Jinyoung asked. “I think it’s weird the way you just know things but I wonder if you knew that? I’ve been away awhile now and when I think about it, I wonder if my mother even worried when she woke up and couldn’t find me. Did she even look for me?”

He felt Jaebum’s arms tighten around him and Jinyoung smiled. “I think you’ve hugged me more than she ever has. That’s why I can’t figure out why it is I’m in such a hurry to go back. What waits for me there has never made me happy and it won’t ever make me happy. It’s just a cage I can’t escape.”

Jinyoung sighed, “I know staying here isn’t an option either though, so as soon as I’m healed, I’ll go back. I don’t want to burden you any more than you already are. They’ve been telling me things. Things about being dragons, things about the curse and things about you. I asked Bambam before if an Ancient was like a king, but he said it wasn’t. I think maybe you were, though. Protecting your people is what should be most important to a king, don’t you think?”

Jinyoung sighed as he closed his eyes again. “Even though I’m not a dragon and not one of your people, I feel safe with you, Jaebum. I think that makes you a king.”

 


	6. Youngmouse

Nine weeks had passed since Jinyoung woke up. He was walking better without the log, but Jaebum was still keeping his leg wrapped up, a solid board wrapped with it. His muscles were weak from spending most of his time sitting but even they would get better as he started moving around more.

Youngjae had claimed him for the day and the two of them were moving through the woods to a place Youngjae had taken him before. It was a stream that ran through the woods behind their home. It had flowers, the pink and purple ones from the man at the city entrance had given him when he was younger, and Youngjae liked to play in the stream. He just had to have supervision so he didn’t get carried off.

“When I was a dragon, I used to sit in streams all the time. They never carried me off then,” Youngjae said as Jinyoung put his hand down into the water. Youngjae ran down his arm and settled inside his cupped hand as Jinyoung lowered it further into the water.

“Youngjae, can I ask you something?”

“I think that’s the first time you’ve asked if you could ask a question,” Youngjae commented. “This must be something big.”

Jinyoung scoffed. “Fine, I won’t ask.”

“No, no,” Youngjae insisted, “ask away.”

“Do dragons love?”

“All this time with us and you’re asking that?” Youngjae question. “Which question is it you’re really curious about, can they love or can they  _ fall _ in love?”

“Both, I guess,” Jinyoung answered. “Bambam said you’re bound to an Ancient, but I’ve never gotten to ask more about that.”

“That’s something different altogether,” Youngjae answered. “That is something ingrained in us as dragons. Love is not ingrained in anyone in that same way, it just sort of happens. I love my family here and I loved them before when we were dragons, too. Jackson is in love with Mark and has been for longer than I’ve been alive. It’s just complicated now that they’re different species. It’s still there, it’s just complicated.”

“More or less complicated than if a human fell in love with a dragon?”

“That’s common, Jinyoung. The only thing complicated about that is the fact that dragons live so much longer than humans and thus, have to bear the burden of the person they love dying.”

“But, dragons and humans are different species? How is that common?”

“Well, probably because we spend so much of our time in our human form.”

“You have a human form!” Jinyoung looked down at the little mouse in his hands in shock.  

“Of course,” Youngjae answered. “No one has mentioned this in the entire time you’ve been here with your constant questions?”

Jinyoung shook his head. “Not once.”

“I swear…” Youngjae started. “You know those color swirls you see sometimes? Usually when you’ve killed us?”

Jinyoung nodded, wishing he could somehow forget that he’d managed to kill the dragons. This far, he’d managed to kill all of them but Mark. Youngjae had been curled up beside him and he’d rolled over on him in his sleep and he’d fallen over on Jackson and crushed him. Mark probably only survived because he was always in the water or at least a safe distance away from Jinyoung.

“Those occur when we transform from human to dragon and vice versa. When we die, we die in human form. Born a dragon and die in human form. When you killed one of us, that color swirl was just us trying to turn back into human form. The curse keeps that from happening, though. I have the theory that this was an oversight in the creation of the curse and that’s why Jaebum is able to keep reviving us.”

“But if Jaebum dies…”

“If Jaebum dies, he’s dead,” Youngjae answered. “In theory, of course. We’re not actually willing to test that theory because if Jaebum does die, then even if we enter our temporary death state, we’re not going to be able to be revived and we’ll just be in that state forever. Dead but not dead. Unless the curse breaks and then we’d be all dead. In theory, of course.”  

“Have you ever noticed how we don’t have any wild animals around us?” Youngjae asked, Jinyoung. “Yugyeom chases them away, even the ones that he can’t actually fight and win, he still fights them. Mark keeps an eye on the water, paying close attention to any changes in it. Jackson has eaten every type of vegetation in the area, making sure none of it would poison Jaebum. He’s died several times doing that and then Jaebum cleared those plants away. Bambam eats the insects so they don’t bite Jaebum. I try to keep an eye on the earth and keep the insect population down there that could hurt him, but they taste so horrible. I’m pretty useless compared to the others but they protect Jaebum. I just try not to die and cause more trouble.”

“I just thought maybe it was dragon aura,” Jinyoung answered as Youngjae climbed up on his hand and shook himself off.

“If only it were that simple,” Youngjae answered. “Let’s go back. The water is cold today.”

“Well, it is fall,” Jinyoung commented as he stood up. “It won’t be long before the rains start.”

~

That had been a terrible thing to say as the next day, that was exactly what happened. The rain was coming down as Jinyoung woke up and climbed out of bed. He went to the front door and looked out as the house was oddly empty. He couldn’t see anything looking out because the rain was coming down so quickly and splashing against the dirt around them. It was going to be muddy and that would make it even more difficult to walk than it already was.

“You’re not going out, are you?”

Jinyoung turned around to find Youngjae on the table. He’d been buried under a small bit of cloth there.

“No,” Jinyoung answered, going to sit down at the table. “I was just curious where everyone was.”

“Probably in Yugyeom’s cave. They have to make sure nothing else has made a home of it since last winter. It sits back behind the house.”

“Yugyeom has a cave?” Jinyoung asked, hobbling back to the table and sitting down. There was a plate there with a cloth over it and Jinyoung knew if he moved that cloth, there would be food he was meant to eat underneath it.

“He’s a bear, Jinyoung,” Youngjae answered. “He’ll need to sleep soon.”

“He hibernates?” Jinyoung asked, picking up a green leafy thing and putting it into his mouth. He’d been so hesitant before when Jaebum would bring him things to eat, but now it seemed so natural and he actually enjoyed the food, too.

“Yeah. He can’t fight against it either. That bear side of him has won out every year.”

“So who do you sleep on while he sleeps?” Jinyoung asked, smiling as Youngjae curled back up in the cloth.

“Whoever will let me,” Youngjae answered. “Jackson doesn’t sit still long enough so even if I do get to curl up with him, it isn’t for long. Jaebum lets me though so I don’t usually need to rely on Jackson. Mark really isn’t that warm to curl up with. No one is quite as warm as Yugyeom,” Youngjae sighed.

  
  



	7. Jackrabbit

Twelve weeks ago, Jinyoung had rolled down a hill and hit his head. Now, he was walking around the woods with talking woodland creatures who were really dragons. Jaebum had removed the board finally and Jinyoung had found his leg was still quite weak and that he now walked with a limp in his gait that hadn’t been there before. Once he was able to walk more strongly, he could go home. He just wished that brought him some sort of excitement. 

He found himself on the hill that was above Yugyeom’s cave. It had rained a lot in the last few weeks and it was cooler now. It would be another two months before the snow came, but Jinyoung was already thinking about it. He loved the way the snow covered everything and blocked out the world. Everything became the same in those moments and he rather liked that. He could pretend, almost, that his life was just the same as the people that passed on the streets under his window back home. If the snow-covered this place, he could image he was just the same as the dragons. 

Yet, he wasn’t like those people and he wasn’t like the dragons. He’d been born into a world that had separated him from all of them. Worse yet, the one person he’d been born to that he was actually like, his mother, was someone he had no desire to be close to. Maybe at one point he had, but now, now he didn’t want to be and he wouldn’t even know where to start if he did.

His gaze came up when he heard a sound and he realized it was probably intentional so that it didn’t startle him. He could see the movement of the oddly white rabbit as it made its way towards him. Something of a path had been worn through the grasses that lead from here to the house and Jackson was keeping to it. 

“Jinyoung! Let’s go for a walk!” Jackson shouted the second he was close enough that Jinyoung might actually hear him. Jinyoung smiled, but he didn’t really feel it as he slowly stood from his spot on the ground. Where he wanted to belong was right here. He couldn’t have that though, not when what he wanted for them was so much more. 

~

“Jinyoung! Stop Jinyoung!” 

Jinyoung froze, looking over at Jackson. They’d been moving through the woods at a decent pace just talking, so he found it strange when Jackson reacted so strongly. 

“What?” Jinyoung asked, wondering if he should move and go back to Jackson or just stay in this one spot. 

“I don’t know where we are!” Jackson said and the way he was looking around, Jinyoung realized Jackson must be panicking. 

“I thought you knew the entire area you could travel?” Jinyoung questioned, looking around. Yes, he’d gotten better at recognizing trees and such, but he honestly wasn’t quite there yet as far as knowing the entire area. 

“I do. This isn’t part of our area. I think...I think we crossed the barrier.” 

“But how is that possible?” Jinyoung asked, “You would have died like Yugyeom if we had.”

“Maybe it wasn’t the barrier that killed Yugyeom?” Jackson suggested. “Maybe it was something else and you just happened to be at the barrier. Didn’t you say before that he fell past it when he died?” 

Jinyoung nodded, remembering the fear he’d felt at that time. He was suddenly starting to panic further knowing he and Jackson might be beyond it. If that were the case, could Jaebum find them? “We should go back,” Jinyoung decided, turning back towards the way they came. 

“Or, we could go further?” Jackson suggested. “I mean, if we’re already beyond it…”

“Jackson, you’re a rabbit and I can’t run. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go forward?” 

“I’m not really known for good ideas,” Jackson answered, moving past Jinyoung. He looked around curiously as he moved forward and Jinyoung had no choice but to follow if he didn’t want the rabbit to get lost out there on his own. 

They traveled for nearly an hour before they came across them; the trails that marked human traffic. Part of Jinyoung grew excited while the other side of him panicked.

“There are people ahead!” Jackson shouted.

Jinyoung looked up and in the direction Jackson was...pointing? They were there, three of them and if Jinyoung had to guess, all three of them were male. If he wasn’t wrong from the way they were dressed, they were hunters. Jinyoung reached out, grasping Jackson by his ears and pulled him back. He turned around, using his other hand to grapple Jackson’s back legs. “Jackson!” Jinyoung said, his tone taking on that which reminded him too much of his mother. “You’re a /rabbit./ Those people will want to eat you. More than that, you talk! You’re going to freak them out and then they’ll send soldiers into the woods to hunt down the talking rabbit. We’re going back.” And all that was long before the list of reasons Jinyoung couldn’t be seen by them. If they recognized him, well, he’d pretty much be at their mercy and he had no idea if they were friend or foe. 

Jackson kept kicking and complaining but Jinyoung wasn’t giving into him. He knew if Jackson kept this up and he got away from him, he would run off and back towards the people. Jinyoung would be helpless to stop him with the difference in the speed with which they could move. He should never have let Jackson continue this far. 

“Jinyoung! Let. Me. Go.” 

Jinyoung felt Jackson's teeth find his hand and the sharp bite that tore into his flesh. Instead of getting him to let go as Jackson had wanted, Jinyoung’s grip tightened on his ears. He dropped his feet though, his hand tightening around the rabbit's small chest. “I’m sorry, Jackson,” he said, just before he turned the rabbit's head sharply to the left and heard the accompanying snap. 

The realization of what he’d done came slowly as he watched the swirl of color. Tears rushed to his eyes as he became whole again. “I’m sorry, Jackson,” he said again, tears streaming down his face as he held the rabbit close. “I’m sorry.” 

~

He was stumbling through the woods, his face wet and Jackson cradled like a baby in his arms. He didn’t know the direction back to where they lived and he had no idea if killing Jackson outside the barrier would mean anything or not. It filled him with a cold fear as he walked, worried that in his desire to keep Jackson from running to the humans he’d killed Jackson for the last time. He tried to tell himself Jackson would be fine as long as he could get him to Jaebum. He hadn’t shifted into human form, after all. As if to match his mood, it began to rain and he was soon soaked from the soft drizzle.

Even if he had reentered the barrier, by the time he’d been walking for an hour, he wouldn’t have recognized it. Everything looked different in the gloomy light with the sun blocked by the grey clouds above. The trees sagged in the opposite way they had when he’d walked this way with Jackson before. If this was the way he’d walked with Jackson before. 

He stopped when he found an uneven spot in the ground and his leg gave out from under him. He felt the pain as he fell but it was distant and somehow hollow. He looked around him and realized what little direction he’d had before had been ruined by the lower perspective. Cradling Jackson against him, Jinyoung turned his face towards the sky. “Jaebum!” He shouted, “please…” His voice was now a soft and broken whisper, “please help me.”   
~  
Jinyoung had no idea of time as he sat there. The water continued to fall from the sky and even though he tried to protect Jackson from the water, it was a useless attempt on his part because he was just as soaked. 

His head snapped up quickly when he heard a sound and his gaze turned towards it, finding relief flood through him as Jaebum’s familiar form filled his view. It quickly vanished when he realized he was going to have to tell him what had happened to Jackson. He tried to get up, but found that sitting too long had caused his legs to get stiff; the right one was even asleep. Jinyoung sat there, watching as Jaebum approached and was no closer to having the words to explain what happened when Jaebum finally crouched down in front of him. 

“I...he,” Jinyoung stammered.“I had to or…” Jinyoung lowered his gaze, unable to look into those eyes that saw too much. “Help him?” Jinyoung was able to mutter, holding Jackson out to Jaebum. 

Jaebum leaned closer, his lips pressing against Jinyoung’s forehead as if to comfort him. He took Jackson and his other arm pulled Jinyoung close to him. He rubbed his hand down Jinyoung’s back and somehow, that made Jinyoung sob more.   
“You have to help him,” Jinyoung muttered. He didn’t deserve to be comforted by Jaebum. He’d killed Jackson. Intentionally! It didn’t matter his reason. He’d intentionally killed his friend. 

Jaebum seemed to understand because instead of trying to continue to calm him down, he just took Jinyoung’s arms and put them around his neck and lifted him off the ground to his feet. It took all of two seconds for Jaebum to notice all Jinyoung’s weight was on him so the rabbit was passed back to Jinyoung and Jaebum lifted them both into his arms. 

Jinyoung wanted to protest, wanted to tell Jaebum he just needed a minute for the one leg to wake up, but he didn’t. Nor did he have to question why he didn’t when he buried his head against Jaebum’s neck. Jinyoung wanted to belong with the dragons far more than he’d ever wanted to belong with the people under the window.   
~  
Only when they had returned to the house and Jinyoung was sitting on the bed did Jaebum’s eyes glow blue. Jaebum took a cloth to Jackson’s fur and a moment later, Jackson disappeared inside the hole. 

After that, Jaebum returned to Jinyoung, pulling at the bottom of Jinyoung’s shirt once before he went across the room to get him a change of clothes. Jinyoung didn’t even bother to try to argue at this point, tossing the wet clothes into a pile and taking the offered cloth to dry his skin. 

“What happened?” Mark asked, actually coming fully into the room for the first time in Jinyoung’s memory and looking into the rabbit hole. He laid down in front of the hole and it was then that Jinyoung recalled what Youngjae had said about them. Jinyoung’s eyes filled with tears as he wondered just how long the two of them had suffered this way. 

“I killed him,” Jinyoung answered, hardly noticing that Jaebum was standing in front of him and drying water from his hair now. “I just…” Jinyoung’s voice faded out and his hands came up, mimicking the motion of snapping the rabbit’s neck. Once Jinyoung was dressed in dry clothes, he sat back down.

“What I wouldn’t give to know that feeling just once,” Bambam commented.

“Same,” Youngjae commented. “But why? What did Jackson do?” 

“There were people and he wanted to go to them,” Jinyoung started. 

“There were people here?” Bambam asked. Everyone in the room sat up and looked at Jinyoung.

“Not here. On the trails that lead to the city. I guess the barrier is weakening or something? I don’t know really. Jackson just stopped recognizing where we were and we kept going forward and found the trails.” 

“The barrier’s weakened?” Mark asked, turning his gaze to Jaebum. 

Jaebum nodded. 

“Did you know?”

Again, Jaebum nodded. 

“I’m going to guess we don’t get to go off and explore, do we?” Youngjae asked. 

Jaebum nodded a third time but this time he narrowed his gaze at them. 

“We will tell you when we go, we will go with Yugyeom, and we will not interfere with any humans. Nor will we allow any harm to come to Jinyoung,” Youngjae said. “We know, Papa!” he finished sarcastically. 

“But...why?” Jinyoung asked, hating that even if Jaebum knew, he wouldn’t be able to answer him. He sat down on the bed, the chill from the rain finally getting through to him. Jaebum came over, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders and smiled at him, pressing a single finger into Jinyoung’s chest. “Me?” Jinyoung asked, shocked by that. 

Jaebum smiled and nodded at him again. In the next moment, Yugyeom was dragging his large body up onto the bed and Jaebum was forcing Jinyoung to lay down next to him. Jinyoung settled along Yugyeom’s stomach, large paws with large claws coming around him as if he were Yugyeom’s cub. It was so warm here, cuddled by the giant bear that he knew he’d be asleep in only a few minutes. 

“But how?” Jinyoung asked. 

“Soon, Jinyoung,” Yugyeom answered. “You’ll understand everything soon.” 

Jinyoung got the very distinct feeling that it was not Yugyoem’s words that he heard but that of a blue-eyed dragon.


	8. The Dragon King

“We can make it that far now so we can go after the witch,” Youngjae said. The mood in the room was somber. The six of them had been on scouting missions the last week, trying to determine how far they could go. Jinyoung would go with Yugyeom or Jaebum and there didn’t seem to even be a barrier any longer. Or if there was, they were never reaching it.

Jinyoung still didn’t understand how he had anything to do with it but the one who seemed to understand that couldn’t tell him. It was frustrating because Jinyoung had even tried to get Jaebum to write it, but while Jaebum could write, it was not in a language Jinyoung had been able to read. Even Jaebum had frowned at it as if he knew it was the wrong language.

“Then...do we do it?” Bambam asked. “Do we go after her? We hardly stood a chance when we were dragons and we’re not really much now.”

“The only thing we can hope is that she wouldn’t recognize us if she saw us. I mean, she’s going to know Jaebum but maybe we could sneak in?” Youngjae suggested.

“You could,” Jinyoung said. “Easily because you’re so small, but it’s really dangerous. What if she knows you’re there?”

“I’m not worried about that,” Youngjae answered. “If I can sneak in and get some information, then even if I end up dead, Bambam can just swallow me and bring me back.”

In the end, they’d gone on a stealth mission and Jinyoung had paced the small space of the house in the woods for what felt like six days before they’d come back. There had been no problems at all and Youngjae and Bambam had even gone to the other side of the city. Part of them had wanted to go further to test the waters, but with a current mission in mind, they’d come back. Jinyoung even let Bambam sit on his shoulder.

“I guess we have to make a plan now,” Mark said. They were sitting in the bedroom. Jaebum sat on his right on the bed, Youngjae was somewhere is a mass of brown fur. With his words, Jackson moved from his place on Jinyoung’s lap and moved over to Mark, leaning into the otter affectionately. No one needed to point it out to Jinyoung. The dragons were going into battle and they could very well end up dead this time. Jinyoung looked down at his lap and a second later, Jaebum took his hand. He didn’t squeeze it reassuringly as he had in the past when Jinyoung was upset. It wasn’t to comfort him in anyway. It was quite likely, that this would just be the last time their hands were together.

~

They had a plan. Jinyoung had even helped with the plan despite being told he would have nothing to do with it. Mark would make his way up the river and into the city through the waterways. It would be a difficult swim but it would get him into the city. Youngjae and Bambam would go the same route they had before. Yugyeom was going to be in the most amount of danger as he played distraction so Jaebum could slip in without being seen. It was possible he would be killed at the gates. Jinyoung had even given Jaebum the cloak he’d left the city in and while it was tight at the shoulders, it would fit well enough to hide his face. He’d just have to control that glowing eye thing. He would take Jackson with them. All of them would carry on them some sort of poison and whoever could get to her and puncture her with it, would kill the witch.

It was more detailed than all that, better organized but still seemed pretty dangerous and unorganized to Jinyoung but the other option was that they would continue to just live the life they had now and they had long since grown tired of that. Besides, without the barrier, there was no doubt that people would find them soon.

The animals were out today, looking for the specific plants Jinyoung had sent them after. He wasn’t sure how deadly the poison would be or how quickly it would work, but he knew what to use on the witch. He’d done nothing but read since he was a child and he knew about plants. He even knew about the flowers, the pink and purple ones now. He knew there was a reason he’d learned about them as a boy and when Jackson had nibbled on one and fallen over a few minutes later nearly six weeks ago, it all came together. He would craft a poison using that flower and free the dragons.

But before that, he needed to deal with another issue that had arisen over the course of his stay with the dragons. That issue was Jaebum. He loved all the animals, considered them in some strange way as to what a normal family should feel towards each other, but Jaebum was different. Jaebum, he was in love with and he’d known that for awhile.

Getting up, he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Jaebum from behind, listening to the sound of Jaebum’s heartbeat a moment. When Jaebum tried to move to turn around towards him, Jinyoung tightened his grip. He didn’t want to move yet and as if he knew it, Jaebum didn’t force him.

Finally, Jinyoung swallowed and spoke the words he’d kept hidden. “I think my life would be good,” Jinyoung said, his arms loosening slightly. “If I could just stay here with you forever.” Jinyoung ignored the tears that sprang up and ran down his face. “But I know you have to do this Jaebum. I know you’re trapped this way and that isn’t fair, so I want you to go. I want you to break the curse and end this, but I’m going to miss you every day for the rest of my life.”

Jinyoung felt Jaebum’s hand on his own, pulling them apart. He didn’t want to let go, but at this point, he knew he’d probably crossed a line. He knew there was little he could do if he had, so he allowed Jaebum to turn around to face him. Jinyoung’s eyes went up to meet his. Jaebum’s eyes were a deep blue. “I’ve never seen that blue. Are you sad, too, Jaebum?” Jinyoung asked, choking and biting his lips. “Do dragons get sad? You live a really long time, so you must have lost a lot of people. Did they mean a lot to you?” Jinyoung wiped at his eyes, the color in Jaebum’s eyes seeming to get darker. He was so far from what he’d meant to say that he knew the rambling would take over for the rest of the conversation “Do I mean anything to you?”

Jaebum nodded at him and that felt worse than if he’d just continued to stand there. “How can that be, Jaebum? I’ve only been here four months. I’ve caused you nothing but trouble by killing the other dragons and needing you to take care of me when I was hurt and you fed me every day and I’ve done nothing beneficial to you. Four months is just a blip on your timeline.You’ll forget me…”

Jinyoung’s words were interrupted by Jaebum’s lips pressing against his own. Jinyoung stood there, startled. It took Jaebum’s arms wrapping around him for his brain to pick up on what was happening and to return the kiss. His arms wrapped around Jaebum’s neck. Wet tears left lines down his face and Jaebum held him tight.

~

The poison was made. And tested. When morning came, the dragons would wake up and they would head off to face their destiny with whatever outcome would come from it. Jinyoung looked around the room. Yugyeom was sound asleep on the floor, Youngjae actually noticeable at the base of the bear's neck. Bambam hung on his perch; a speck of grey against the darkness of the walls. Mark and Jackson were curled up together on a chair. Jaebum had stretched out on the bed hours before and while Jinyoung had curled up with him, it had only been an hour before he’d sat up, just watching the others sleep.

He nearly jumped when Jaebum’s hand covered his own. “Sorry,” Jinyoung whispered. He felt the tug of Jaebum on his hand and Jinyoung gave in, laying back down beside Jaebum.

“Will you show me, Jaebum?” he asked suddenly, knowing it was probably the last chance he had to ask Jaebum about that day they had been turned into these creatures. “Will you show me the day of the curse?”

Jaebum hesitated in his silent way and Jinyoung thought for sure that Jaebum was going to refuse to show him. He wasn’t even sure how Jaebum could show him, but there must be a way because Yugyeom had said so before. He also couldn’t explain why it was that Jinyoung felt the need to see it. It wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it by knowing but it just felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle and the only one who could give him that was Jaebum.

Jaebum sighed after a moment and Jinyoung knew that to be the yes to the question he’d answered. Jaebum moved, his blue eyes glowing lightly in the dark, so that Jinyoung was looking at him fully. His eyes lit up then, far brighter than Jinyoung could ever recall seeing them. Then, they continued to brighten until it was nearly painful to look at. A moment later, Jinyoung’s eyes were closing and he was being pulled into a deep sleep.

~

Jinyoung dreamed of dragons. They were in every color, just as Mark had told him. He could see them as if it wasn’t the strangest thing he could imagine. In fact, he could see them and it somehow felt right.

He was moving in the dream but he knew that no one could see him. He knew he was in a dream, or at least, he knew he was in something. It felt like a memory that he could walk through and as he thought about this, he realized things were going on around him and those things were getting more dangerous.

There were dragons landing around him and they all seemed to be listening to another dragon. Following their gaze, he turned to find a grey dragon, the language with which he spoke coming into Jinyoung’s mind as if he’d always know it. The words were of inspiration as they went into battle against the witch. Then Jinyoung heard another voice, one he’d never actually heard but sounded like music itself.

This voice, this beautiful blue dragon, was trying to talk the others out of this plan. This voice was trying to convince the others that the Immortal One was not against them. This voice, told them he’d prove it and then Jinyoung felt himself moving. No, not moving, flying over what could only be a city and landing in yet another place that was both foreign and familiar.

“Are they coming to kill me?”

“I’m afraid so,” Jaebum answered the woman. She was faced away from them but it seemed she had known of her fate long before Jaebum had confirmed it.

“I suppose that’s too bad then,” she answered and when she turned, in her hand waved a small, purple, moving mass. “It’s too bad that you trusted me over them, Jaebum.” The mass moved before her sentence ended and rushed, pushing it’s way into Jaebum’s chest. Jaebum hit his knees and Jinyoung rushed forward, knowing there was nothing he could do. “At least you were honorable, Jaebum. Until the very end.”

Jinyoung looked at the woman, a smug look on her face as a rumble came up through the earth and Jinyoung knew. He knew as that shock wave reflected out, that it was turning dragons into animals. He stared and somewhere in the back of his mind came the words he’d heard before. _Her face may change but she is of the same soul._ Jinyoung stared into those eyes and felt fear race through them. Those eyes, the ones that looked at Jaebum in this memory, had looked at him in the exact same way they always had. She hated the dragons then and she’d hated Jinyoung until now.

~

When he woke up, he was alone in the house. The sun was up and Jinyoung knew, without getting up to look around, that the dragons had already left. Mark had said they would return to lead him home once they were through but Jinyoung was standing up in a rush. They didn’t understand. How could they understand? He should have asked Jaebum earlier.

 

Rushing out the door, Jinyoung looked around. Even though they’d been moving closer to the trails that would take him home, he had in no way learned how to get home. But home was exactly where Jinyoung needed to get. “I can do it,” he muttered, taking off as fast as his body would allow him. “I _have _to do it.”__


	9. The Battle

Yugyeom was not dead by the gates when Jinyoung made it to them. His leg hurt and he’d twisted his ankle more times than he could remember as he ran through. In fact, Yugyeom seemed to be holding his own against the people there and Jinyoung ran forward, putting himself between them and the bear. It was strange the way everyone stopped moving when the prince who’d been missing for months just ran in. 

“This is my bear,” Jinyoung shouted and the guards exchanged looks and then looked back at the bear. Yugyeom had sat down and gone from the ferocious wild beast to tame in second. “He’s going with me.” 

“But Prince Jinyoung…” 

“He’s going with me!” Jinyoung repeated. “Come on, Yugyeom.” 

“Yes, Jinyoung,” Yugyeom answered as he stood up to follow Jinyoung. The guards looked at the bear, one of them screeching and then they backed away. “Are you able to walk, okay?” Yugyeom asked as they moved forward. Jinyoung knew he was limping, but he managed to press through that for now. 

“I’m fine,” Jinyoung answered. “Where are the others?” 

“Well, right about now Bambam is probably playing torpedo with Youngjae as he tries to drop the mouse on the witch. Jackson is probably rushing around her feet to trip her up and make it easier on them. I don’t actually know what Mark’s plan was but it’s probably more direct like a charge attack.” 

“And Jaebum?” Jinyoung asked. “What was his plan after he got in?” 

“That’s hard to know,” Yugyeom answered. “But I’m willing to bet with the way the ground is trembling, everything that is going on is being done up there.” 

Jinyoung’s gaze went up to where Yugyeom’s paw was pointing. He knew exactly where they were but he had no idea how Mark would get to them there. “Yugyeom, I need you to get me there. There’s no way I’ll be able to take all those steps.” 

“Climb on,” Yugyeom answered and once he had, Yugyeom took off as fast as he could, running through the streets of the city. (Jinyoung and his trusty steed.)

~

There were more guards now than Jinyoung remembered there being when he’d left and he had to bet that his mother used his disappearance to gain them. Most of them were from the city however, so they knew Jinyoung’s face and that, much like it had at the gate, had them confused as to what to do. 

When they arrived at the courtyard, Jinyoung was not at all prepared for what he was seeing. He’d expected to see something similar to what Yugyeom had said but it was more than that. He found Bambam easily as he picked Youngjae up off the ground, probably not for the first time, and Jackson was dancing around the feet of the woman, but there was more than that. There was a hawk doing something quite similar with a squirrel. Jackson wasn’t alone, a dark grey rabbit causing just as much trouble. A monkey sat off to the side, launching things forward but Jinyoung couldn’t tell what exactly. Birds that Jinyoung had never even seen before flew in circles around the sky. Rodents ran everywhere. There was everything from deer to an armadillo, all running at the witch. There had to be at least fifty animals in the courtyard.

Yugyeom’s paw reached up, catching a squirrel as it almost made contact with the ground. 

“Thanks!” The squirrel said. “Would you mind tossing me at the witch?” 

“T-Taehyung?” Yugyeom asked, staring at the mouse. 

“Yugyeom! You’re a bear! Damn, I was thinking gazelle.” Taehyung answered. 

“But...how? Jungkook…”

“Is the grey rabbit. He’s been able to hear you. I guess you still project so others did, too. So, we eavesdropped and mimicked your plan and now, if I had to guess, you reached at least a third of us. That’s for later. Throw, Yugyeom!” 

Yugyeom’s arm went up and the squirrel went flying back at the witch. It was a well timed aim, but that wouldn't have mattered in the least. "What did he mean about project?" Jinyoung asked as the squirrel landed. 

"Like Jackson's fire," Yugyeom explained breifly. "Mines just thoughts. I didn't even know I was even capable in this form."The rumbling increased then and Jinyoung looked up, a wave of rock whisking from the ground and scattering the animals. Yugyeom put himself in front of Jinyoung, the wind and rocks settling a moment later. 

“How dare you! Do you really think you can defeat me now? When you weren’t even able to do it when you were dragons!” There was more wind then and Jinyoung realized she was readying another attack. “Where are you, Jaebum?” The witch asked, the rocks moving about with more precision, hitting the animals that were coming her direction and scattering the ones in the air. 

Everything came to a halt then and Jinyoung looked around. Some of them were dead, he knew from the way the colors swirled and it made him worry for his own animals. None of them got up though, as if they were also waiting for Jaebum to appear, but he wasn’t anywhere Jinyoung could see. There wasn’t much warning as the rocks shout out of the ground, one tearing at the flesh on Jinyoung’s arm as it did so. They rose in the air, poised and ready to attack. 

“Is it you or them, Jaebum?” 

Jinyoung, and likely all the animals, all understood her meaning. Yugyeom pulled Jinyoung to the ground, his large body going over the top of him to protect him from the weapons in the air. Jinyoung looked around, noticing a shuffling coming from a short distance away and then there was Jaebum, easily in view of the entire courtyard. 

“Honorable until the very end,” she said and Jinyoung watched in horror as the rocks in the air went speeding towards Jaebum. 

Some of them tried to protect Jaebum, the faster ones and those closest, but most of the rocks still managed to hit Jaebum. He went down on his knee, his eyes shining blue as he struggled to stand back up. There were tears in his skin and Jinyoung was mortified to find him bleeding. He’d never seen Jaebum bleed. 

“Yugyeom, go help him,” Jinyoung said, pushing against the bear. “Please, help him.” 

“I can’t,” Yugyeom answered. “As much as I am bound to you, Jinyoung, my Ancient has given me an order to protect you. I can’t break that even if I wanted.” 

Jinyoung looked around as the rocks went into the air again. The dragons were ready this time but so was the witch. Her attack was aimed not just as Jaebum this time, but at any who might try to protect him. Yugyeom had lowered his weight over Jinyoung and Jinyoung knew this was the only opportunity he was going to get. 

“Yugyeom, I can’t breathe!” Jinyoung shouted as the witch made another attack. Yugyeom lifted his weight and Jinyoung slid out from underneath him, taking off towards Jaebum before the bear could stop him. Jaebum was on the ground now and Jinyoung wondered as he ran towards Jaebum if he was too late.


	10. The Curse is Lifted

Jinyoung ran over to Jaebum, the sight of blood across his chest causing him more alarm now that he was so close to it. There was so much blood…

He skidded to his knees as he approached him, ignoring the pain of the impact as his knee hit rock. “Jaebum!” he shook on Jaebum’s arm, “please wake up!” He didn’t know what to do, how to help, so he pressed his hand in the center of where the blood seemed to have originated from, hoping the pressure there would slow the liquid from seeping out of Jaebum. 

Jaebum groaned when he did so and his eyes opened. A plethora of expressions crossed his face starting with the recognition of Jinyoung. Followed by that came surprise as to why he was there. Jinyoung saw the disapproval cross those eyes briefly before it was replaced with worry. 

“You’re hurt!” Jinyoung said, tears racing down his cheeks.. “I know you didn’t want me to come, but...I didn’t want you to die! I didn’t want anyone to die! You can’t die…you have to know…Jinyoung was cut off as the rubble around him began to vibrate again. It was a quick second later that Jaebum was putting himself between Jinyoung and the place of the witch. All chances for Jinyoung to explain were lost as bits of rock began to fly in their direction. Many of them hit Jaebum, but it was almost as if he didn’t feel them. 

“Stop!” Jinyoung shouted, trying to move around Jaebum only to be shoved back again. He slipped this time, falling behind Jaebum. Fear raced through him as a larger rock came, crashing into Jaebum and knocking him back. Jinyoung leaped up, catching ahold of Jaebum and the two of them fell back onto the ground. There was more blood and the sight of all of it was starting to make him sick to the stomach. He moved out from under Jaebum and leaned over him, protecting him with his own body as best he could. 

He realized as the first rock came at him why it was that it had seemed like Jaebum wasn’t noticing them. Jinyoung could feel the flesh on his face, his arms, and even into his torso being cut by the rocks as they continued to move, but every one that hit him, wasn’t hitting Jaebum. It was that knowledge that kept him from moving. The blood that fell onto Jaebum now was his own. 

“Stop, Mother!” Jinyoung shouted, the same anger that had caused him to leave in the first place racing through him. He stared down at Jaebum’s face. Only when he reached up, did he realize how cut up his own body was becoming. “I will protect you,” Jinyoung said, his hand running down Jaebum’s face. “I will stop her and I will protect you. That is what I’m meant to do.” 

Jinyoung stood up as soon as the rocks stopped. His step was weak and his body torn but he turned to face her anyways. His mother, the witch that had cursed the dragons. They were one and the same and for some reason, Jinyoung felt like that was something he’d known since the moment he’d learned of the curse. 

Everything stopped then. It was eerie, the way there had been so much activity and now there was nothing but silence. Even the dust seemed to have settled immediately and after a moment, she moved towards him. 

“Jinyoung? You’re alive!” She rushed forward, but stopped when she saw the look on Jinyoung’s face. Understanding seemed to settle over her face as she looked at him, bloody and injured from what she’d done. 

“You cursed the dragons!” Jinyoung spat, so angry with her that the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in nearly four months seemed lost on him. It was a confusing place to be for Jinyoung, but in this moment, the only thing that mattered was that Jaebum was severely injured. “Why? What did they ever do to you!”

“Jinyoung, I had to protect our people, I had to protect you…”

“Don’t lie, Mother! They were never at risk!”

His mother took a deep breath and Jinyoung noticed her movements then. The uptilt of her chin, the way her shoulders pressed back. He knew these well. She often did it when someone questioned her decisions and he also knew she would stand by what she’d done. 

“It’s clear they have warped your mind, Jinyoung. I suppose if I was at their mercy…”

“I was not at their mercy!” Jinyoung shouted. 

“There’s no need to shout, Jinyoung. I’m right here.” 

He hated how condescending she sounded. He’d always hated that about her, like no matter what he accomplished, he would always be a child to her. “Release them, Mother,” he commanded, his voice even and demanding. “Free them from what you have done.” 

“I can’t do that, Jinyoung. Even if I could, I don’t _want_ , too. I-” 

A noise behind Jinyoung caught his attention and he turned, finding Jaebum climbing to his feet. “She can’t...” Jinyoung stared at Jaebum as he stumbled going down to one knee. He moved forward, but Jaebum put his hand up to stop him. His eyes closed a moment and when they opened, he smiled at Jinyoung. “But you always could, Jinyoung.” 

Jaebum’s voice had come out soft and because of that, Jinyoung was positive he had imagined the entire thing. He was about to say something when a sound came from the distance. Jinyoung looked up as giant green wings soared across the sky. He was joined a moment later by a beautiful purple dragon. Jinyoung turned back towards Jaebum, but the image of the man was barely there. He watched, a swirl of colors blending before the image of a beautiful blue dragon became solid before him. 

Jinyoung walked forward, his hand reaching out to touch the dragon. “How…” he muttered, his hand making contact with the dragon’s head. It didn’t linger there long before the dragon moved, the large gust of wind the massive wings created causing Jinyoung to put his hands up to defend his face. 

When Jaebum was high enough away not to cause swirls of air, Jinyoung looked up, watching the first flight of the Dragon King in decades. He noticed then the way the other dragons swirled around in the air around him and the way he was joined a short moment later by a yellow, a red and a pink dragon. Jinyoung smiled, tears coming to his eyes. They were all there, flying above him in the way they’d talked about. 

There were so many others filling the air now as well. All colors of the rainbow of the dragons and even his browns and greys. They were free.

“Jinyoung! What have you done!” 

“How could I have done anything, Mother?” Jinyoung asked, his eyes on the sky as the dragons moved off. 

“That curse could not have been broken by you!” 

Jinyoung raised his brow as he looked at her. “You don’t have to shout, Mother. I’m right here.” He knew she was yelling at him still, but the dragons were fading from his sight and while it brought him joy to know how happy they were to finally be free, a part of his heart was breaking. They were free and now they were gone. He was left alone once again.

“I think we should celebrate my return with a coronation,” Jinyoung said, taking his eyes from the sky.

“If you think…” 

“I’m not giving you a choice,” Jinyoung answered. “You can do this quietly, properly, or I can have you removed through deceit. I learned enough from you that you know I can.” 

Jinyoung didn’t wait for an answer, turning to walk away from her. A portion of his home had been damaged during the battle, but it was repairable. Jinyoung let out a long sigh as he climbed the steps to his home. How different the man walking up the steps was from the boy who had snuck away in the night.


	11. The King

Jinyoung walked down the steps of the castle and headed through the streets of his city. It was one of the many changes he had made immediately after he’d become king. His mother had complied, realizing she was defeated in this in the same way the curse had been lifted against her will. Jinyoung would never be restricted to the inner walls of the castle, he would never be hidden away from his people, and he would never be denied the right to leave the city if he so chose to do so. 

Today, he was making that choice. Winter had come and passed since the dragons left and on a spring day clear of rain, he was going back. Back to that small hideaway where he’d grown close to a group of woodland creatures who were actually dragons. He wasn’t sneaking this time, in fact, he had two guards that were going with him. 

It took him nearly two hours to make the trip back and it wasn’t without getting turned around. When the house came into view, Jinyoung felt his heart swell. It was like being able to walk back into a moment that had passed. Except, this time, there wouldn’t be a curious bat or tiny mouse waiting for him. 

He made the guards wait outside as he made his way through the doorway. He could tell immediately that none of the dragons had returned. He hadn’t realized until he saw it how much he’d been hoping for that. There was a layer of dust over everything and everything was just as he’d left it when he’d decided to disobey Jaebum and follow them. 

Jinyoung moved forward into the bedroom. There was the perch that Bambam had hung from when he slept. The door to the stream outside was open still. Jackson’s burrow was still there, but it was now a home to a different rabbit. He knew the cave would still be there if he walked outside, but if it was housed by a different bear, Jinyoung didn’t want to find out. 

Walking fully into the room where he’d spent so many of his early days, he went to the bed and laid down on it; a puff of dust greeting him. His eyes closed as he remembered his time here. He could hear them, the noise they made that had woken him up, the way Bambam had shifted into a color swirl when he’d hit him, the fear when his eyes had first taken in Yugyeom. 

“I miss all of you,” Jinyoung said to the empty room as if telling them that here would somehow reach them. “I’m the king now. I’m doing what I always had to do.” He smiled as tears fell from his eyes. “I’m learning about who I am, the magic that I can do. It’s so weird that I never knew about it.” 

That wasn’t entirely true. He just wasn’t aware that he had been causing it. When he’d snuck out of the castle unseen both when he’d been a child and later when he’d first come here. Times, when he'd been sick and dreamed everything in his room, had been floating. Memories of the way animals had always gravitated towards him. They were small things because he could never control it but now he was learning and understanding it and realizing that he had been able to do things others couldn’t all along. 

“Are you guys happy now?” Jinyoung asked as he sat up and looked around again. “I hope you are. It’s easier to be sad if all of you are happy.”

~~~

Jinyoung wasn’t looking when the shadow crossed over his head, hiding the sun behind it. He wouldn’t have thought much about it, except the sun emerged quickly. Looking up, he caught the sight of blue across the sky.

Jinyoung watched, hearing people around him panic but knowing that dragon would never harm them. It occurred to him as his awkward gait took him in the direction the dragon had gone, just where they were going. There was a clearing on the other side of the wall and it would be perfect for their landing. 

He saw them as soon as he rounded the wall, his beautiful dragons in their human forms. One of them was still trying to figure out how to pull the shirt over his head when Jinyoung’s eyes found Jaebum. Jinyoung didn’t slow his pace until he had those wonderful arms around him.

“Oh, I see how it is. You didn’t even miss us.” Youngjae’s voice.

“I guess we’re just chopped liver.” Bambam.

Jinyoung let go of Jaebum and moved over to him. “Oh, thank God!” he said, his hands going up to Bambam’s cheeks. 

“What?” Bambam asked, his own hand covering Jinyoung’s. 

“You’re so beautiful. I was so afraid you’d be hideous!” 

Bambam’s hands fell away and his head dropped. “Jinyoung!” 

Jinyoung laughed as he looked at them, his eyes wet with tears. Jaebum stepped behind him, his arms wrapping around him and his chin resting on Jinyoung’s shoulder. “What do you think, Jinyoung?” Jaebum asked. “Do you know them?” 

Jinyoung looked around at the dragons, their faces foreign even though they belonged to his dragons. “Of course I do,” Jinyoung answered, going around the circle. Laughter followed when he was through and Jinyoung looked at Jaebum. “What?” 

“You only got Bambam right,” Jaebum answered.

Jinyoung pulled away to stare at him, his mouth open. “What?” he looked back at them. “Not...not one?” he asked. 

Jaebum shook his head and smiled at him. 

“I’m a failure,” Jinyoung said, turning and walking back towards the city’s entrance. “I am a failure as a king. I am a failure as a friend and I…”

“No, you’re not!” Yugyeom answered.

“Yeah! Don’t walk away from us!” Jackson cried and ran up next to him.   
Jinyoung turned sharply back to them and looked at Jackson. “You lied to me!” Jinyoung said, glaring at them. Jackson was exactly who he thought Jackson was! “Why would you do that!”

“Because we could only do it once,” Mark answered and Jinyoung softened his glare. 

“Then, I got everyone right, right?” 

“Yes,” Bambam answered. “You got everyone right.” 

~

“Any other questions?” Jaebum asked, kissing Jinyoung’s bare shoulder. 

“All the ones I’ve ever asked you when you would hold me and I would ramble,” Jinyoung said, happily wrapped in Jaebum’s arms. “First though, how was it the curse was broken?” 

“The only way it could be,” Jaebum answered. “The Immortal One had to protect the Ancient dragon upon which the curse was first placed.” 

“But if the Immortal One placed the curse on the dragon, why would she ever protect them?” Jinyoung asked. 

“She wouldn’t,” Jaebum answered. 

“Then how was the curse to be broken?” 

“It was never meant to be broken, Jinyoung.” 

“But it was…” 

“Jinyoung, you do understand that you’re the Immortal One now, right?” Jaebum was staring at him with a soft smile on his face. 

“Of course,” Jinyoung answered. “My mother was the Immortal One and when I was born that moved onto me. I guess I just don’t understand what it was that caused the curse to break.”

“The Immortal One had to protect the dragon that the curse was cast upon,” Jaebum’s hand reached up and stroked his cheek. “Despite my effort to protect you, you broke the curse when you placed yourself in front of me and took the attack in my place. You protected me, Jinyoung.” 

Jinyoung smiled, leaning into Jaebum’s hand. “And now I have to protect the dragons,” he said. 

“No,” Jaebum corrected. “You have to protect everyone; human and dragon. You can’t choose only one side, Jinyoung.” 

“I forsee a problem with this,” Jinyoung said. “I sort of fell in love with a dragon and I feel that has created a bias opinion.” 

“I’m not worried, Jinyoung. The dragon that fell in love with you knows you care about the safety of your people. Because of that, we’ll face this together,” Jaebum leaned towards him, his blue eyes meeting Jinyoung’s. He leaned down to kiss him but Jinyoung turned his face away. 

“So it’s going to be us then?” Jinyoung asked, a worrying thought running through his head. 

Jaebum nodded.

“What if I can’t do it? I mean, it will be hard enough explaining dragons just to the people in the city, let alone people who don’t know who I am…” 

“Jinyoung, I’m going to be right beside you for all of it. So are the others. You’re not alone, okay?” 

Jinyoung smiled then. “Do you know how much I wanted that?” Jinyoung asked him. “How much I just wanted a life with the six of you?”

“It’s not going to be an easy one, Jinyoung, but you will always have us.” 

“Even though I know how difficult things are ahead, you always manage to make me feel like I can face it. Even when you couldn’t even say anything to me. I love you, Jaebum.”

“I love you, too, Jinyoung. It’s so nice to finally be able to say that. I love you.” 

Jinyoung took in a deep, happy breath as he looked up at Jaebum. “How long did you know?” he asked. 

“Know what?” Jaebum asked.

“That I was the Immortal One?” 

“Since the moment you were born, I could feel your existence, Jinyoung. Something had split and I knew it was your birth. I knew when you left the city and I could almost track your movements as you walked through the woods that night.” 

“Should I be concerned that you have this weird ability to know where I am at all times?” Jinyoung asked. 

“It just means I’ll always be able to find you, no matter how lost you get.” Jaebum leaned forward again and this time, Jinyoung didn’t turn away. 

“Tell me everything you remember,” Jinyoung said when Jaebum pulled away and he had settled back against Jaebum’s chest. “It’s so nice to hear you talk.” 

“Everything?”

“No,” Jinyoung said as he changed his mind. “Just tell me the happy parts.” 

“Alright,” Jaebum answered. “One night, a beautiful young man rolled down a hill…”


End file.
